good film based upon a videogame SHOCKER!!![Or, in English, 'Animal Forest: The Movie' - Animal Forest, of course, being the (literal) translated name of the Nintendo game series known to the Western world as Animal Crossing.]
Feature film interpretations of videogames, be they live action or animated affairs, have a notoriously poor reputation with gamers and movie lovers alike for good reason - that pretty much every single one to date has been complete pants. The biggest problem is that massive liberties are taken with any semblance of story or plot resulting in a situation whereby more often than not the only real relation between the film and the game that inspired it is the title. Some would argue very few games have enough narrative backbone to provide for a movie proper but if you're going to bother creating something from a known licence surely the whole point of the project is to capitalise on the existing popularity by presenting fans with something vaguely familiar (let alone extended canon) via a theatrical medium? If we were to assume that is the ideal working definition of a movie based upon a videogame then I (half) seriously believe the Animal Crossing movie is the first truly good example and perhaps the first game-derived film to break the pants mould that has, erm, been festering for many years now.So why is it good? In a nutshell the Animal Crossing movie is immensely faithful to the source material - specifically the most recent game in the series,
'Animal Crossing: Wild World' for the Nintendo DS - while remaining plausibly enjoyable viewing regardless of prior experiences. It successfully captures the look, feel, and charm of the infectiously colourful world perfectly; mirroring the games by managing to be engrossing, endearing, casually paced, and even, dare I say, relaxing.
Much like the premise of the game the story revolves around a girl moving to town, her trials and tribulations over the seasons as she integrates herself into life with the locals, and the importance of friendship. 'Cherry pie' is also integral to the plot, as is a special event that can occur in the game. It's hardly Shakespeare but then it's not like the bard's work has succeeded much
making the opposite journey...
The attention to detail in transforming the game to big screen is unrivalled. It is evident that quite a lot of thought has gone into incorporating as much of the game as possible by encompassing almost all of the gameplay aspects, locations, major characters, and the original soundtrack. References are made to pretty much everything you can experience in the game - from clothes designing, letter writing, messages in bottles, bug catching, fishing, pitfalls, to the Happy Room Academy, gyroids, fossils, feng shui, festivals, and more. Components of interaction with the animal neighbours such as emotion symbols, questions, and bizarre randomness could easily have been overlooked during the crossover but work with good effect - heck, there are even pieces of dialogue that have been lifted directly from the game. While we're passing the subject of dialogue I should mention, however, that the characters speak in Japanese and not the native tongue of 'Animalese' found in the games. An understandable omission but purists will be happy to learn that K.K. Slider's singing voice remains authentic!
Nintendo and it's animation partner have managed to do the seemingly impossible by amalgamating a relatively original story within an accurately repackaged essence of a gaming world/scenario without detracting or deviating massively from the game itself. The graphical style of the Animal Crossing series obviously lends itself perfectly to a seamless transition to anime, and the fact that the games are relatively open-ended with user defined main characters means there is no real fixed story to emulate or stand up against in expectations. But I guess the most pleasing factor that counters those points is that it doesn't feel forced. It plays out more like unobtrusive fan-service than a marketing exercise or what could have amounted to a feature-length advert, providing satisfying viewing for anyone who has played the game while at the same time remaining accessible enough and primed to entice new fans by managing to be enjoyable as a self-contained whole to those who haven't. Just compare it with the regurgitated nature of the merchandise motivated
Pokémon films - the last (and still continuing!) Nintendo franchise to receive cinematic treatment.
The frustrating part is 15 months after release it has still yet to be available outside of Japan and sadly, despite the relatively high popularity of Animal Crossing in Europe and the U.S., that will probably never change. You can, however, watch it
on Youtube or download it via a
torrent.
From:
imperialdoughnut.blogspot.com
